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Pac-12 announces women's golf individual awards

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- In a vote of the 11 Conference coaches, UCLA’s Alison Lee has been named the 2014 Pac-12 Golfer of the Year and the 2014 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Andrea Gaston, of USC, is the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, the Conference office announced Monday.

Pac-12 Golfer of the Year/Freshman of the Year - Alison Lee, UCLA

Lee, a native of Valencia, Calif., was ranked No. 1 among collegiate players most of the season and ended the year on top of the GolfStat rankings, taking home the GolfStat Cup—awarded to the player with the best season scoring average in the nation. She also led the Bruins with 20 rounds under par and a 97% counter ratio. After being recognized with Pac-12 first-team all-Conference honors, Lee was also named the WGCA Division I Freshman of the Year. She has been nominated for College Golf’s Honda Award, which signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics,” and named to the 2014 U.S. Curtis Cup Team.

Along with Lee’s three tournament wins in her first year as a Bruin, she posted one top-10 finish and eight top-five finishes, including first-place finishes at Betsy Rawls, Stanford Invitational, and the 2014 Pac-12 Championships. She is the third Bruin in history to take home the Golfer of the Year award and the fifth Freshman of the Year, following current teammate Erynne Lee who received the honor just two seasons ago.

Pac-12 Coach of the Year - Andrea Gaston, USC

Gaston—who is earning the honor for the second-straight year—had a successful season leading a talented, No. 1 ranked USC team back to a second-place finish at this year’s NCAA tournament. Overall on the season, the Trojans locked down nine tournament wins to replace last year’s record-breaking numbers, and finished second in the other four events.

In an exciting final round of the NCAA Championships, USC came up just two strokes back from the team championship. However, junior Doris Chen did walk away with the 2014 individual title, giving the Trojans the top NCAA finisher for two-consecutive years as sophomore Annie Park won in 2013. USC’s five NCAA individual crowns are tied for the most in NCAA history with Arizona State. USC also extends its national-best string of NCAA top five finishes to nine. In her 18th season with the Trojans, Coach Andrea Gaston has established an expectation of excellence for this decorated program.

This is Gaston’s third Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor, with her first coming in 2008 and her second after her team’s National Championship performance in 2013. She is the second USC coach to receive the honor, joining Cathy Bright, who was awarded Coach of the Year in 1987.